Republican FCC Commissioner CARRIES Big Telecoms' Water In ANTI-NET NEUTRALITY Statement

[Segami]

Ajit Pai: ReTHUG waterboy and former Associate General Counsel of Verizon Communications Inc.

In a press conference Tuesday, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, one of two Republicans on the commission, blasted Chairman Tom Wheeler's strong plan for net neutrality. It was a speech long on telecom talking points, but short on reality.

"...The American people are being misled about President Obama's plan to regulate the Internet," he said in a statement, suggesting that Obama had pressured Wheeler into reclassification. "Last week's carefully managed rollout was designed to downplay the plans of a massive intrusion in the Internet economy." The FCC has answered questions about the plan in its own press conference, and Wheeler released a four-page document explaining its major points. But the full document is only available to the rest of the FCC, which will vote on it during a February 26th open meeting.

"I have now read the 332 page plan. It is worse than I had imagined," said Pai. In particular, he warned that reclassifying broadband would open the door to taxes and onerous regulations, and give the FCC "broad and unprecedented discretion to micro-manage the internet." He claimed that although Wheeler has repeatedly promised the plan won't include any new rates or taxes, it doesn't shut the door on implementing them in the future, creating a burden for small regional ISPs and cable providers...."


http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/10/8012929/fcc-ajit-pai-opposes-wheeler-net-neutrality-plan

The "it's all President Obama's fault" line should be the tip-off that Pai is speaking not as a disinterested protector of consumer rights but as partisan warrior and water-carrier for big telecom, making assertions that have already been debunked. One of them, in fact, was debunked by actual telecoms as pointed out by FCC Special Counsel Gigi Sohn, in an epic Twitter fact check of Pai's press conference. Pai said real net neutrality would stifle innovation and investment, but Comptel, Sprint, Google, and Rural Broadband Association have all said that a light touch Title II regulation wouldn't harm investment. She also pointed out that the idea of new taxes was "destroyed" by the Washington Post's fact-checker. Oh, and the 332-page plan? It's actually only 8 pages. The other 324 pages are historical and legal background and justification, including the fact that the FCC received a record number of comments in favor of net neutrality.


The FCC will vote on Wheeler's plan later this month, with three votes of the five commissioners certainly secured. Then the fight moves to Congress. Pai's statement is utterly dishonest, but it's useful at least in exposing the plan of attack by Republicans in Congress and the telecoms to try to roll back the new rules.



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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/10/1363605/-Republican-FCC-Commissioner-carries-big-telecoms-water-in-anti-net-neutrality-nbsp-statement